Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Finding Harbor
SERIES: The Long Shadow
AUTHOR: Duncan Gaye
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 306 pages
RELEASE DATE: November 10, 2025
BLURB:
Part of The Long Shadow Series by Duncan Gaye
Patrick Callahan comes to Cape Breton expecting easy money from a quick and lucrative timber deal. Instead, he only finds humiliation. Swindled out of his inheritance and stranded in a windswept fishing village, he is left with nothing but a single suitcase and a future that has collapsed overnight. At seven and a half feet tall, Angus MacAskill is a gentle giant with his own past. In St. Ann’s, he is known for his silent kindness as much as he is for his stoic nature. He offers Patrick a bookkeeping job in his mercantile, and a place by the fire. What begins as simple arrangement blossoms into a profound connection neither man could have ever imagined.
Set within the wild beauty of nineteenth-century Nova Scotia, Finding Harbor is a queer historical romance about survival, finding home, and a love that takes root slowly but with unshakable strength. Perfect for readers who love the tenderness of Cat Sebastian and KJ Charles, and for those drawn to the warmth and hope found in TJ Klune’s novels.
REVIEW:
This is a new to me author but I really love historicals and I love the Maritimes, so this was a very intriguing offering. I loved the prose of this story. It did feel like another place and time. The book is told entirely from Patrick’s POV. His is a sad tale to start. But things improve despite the desperation of this inauspicious beginning.
Patrick Callahan arrives in St. Ann in expectation of a timber business man meeting him – as laid out in the contract he signed handing over nearly all of his money as his part of a timber deal. Instead he finds a small sleepy fishing village with no Mr. Bruce, no timber business, no money to be had, not hotel, nothing. It does however have a local giant named Angus MacAskill. And Angus has a heart that softens for those in need.
Desperately seeking some sort of employment and a place to sleep, Patrick ends up at Angus’s store. Turns out Angus has a number of businesses and he could use someone to handle the ledgers. The wages are significantly less than Patrick was earning as a clerk in Boston, but beggars can’t be choosers and his $2.17 isn’t going to last – not even enough for a decent meal. The job also comes with lodgings. With Mr. MacAskill. In his one room, one bed cottage.
Patrick feels a pull towards Angus from the moment he sees him helping with a broken wagon wheel. He’s a man who seems at ease in his skin. Nobody seems to think of him as anything other than Angus. He’s used to his strength and size and he uses it to help where he can. The locals don’t treat him any differently. His pregnant clear Mary certainly doesn’t. Patrick envies this because his whole life has felt like a performance. A performance meant to hide his true self and nature from the world and hopefully allow him to “better his station” and live his own life.
Angus doesn’t seem to pity Patrick for which he is grateful. And as they spend time together, it seems like maybe they have more in common than meets the eye. This of course eventually causes some issues and their up and down relationship is not easy. Things happen. They stop communicating. Patrick thinks of leaving. The town seems to be worried about their relationship. There is a lot going on here and they are trying to figure things out as they go.
Wow. I really enjoyed this. The story was so interesting and I felt like I was there. The supporting cast can be someone caricatured at times, but I think mostly the 19th century vibe was accurate. It ends more as an HFN – but hopeful for an HEA. I would love to read more. This is part of a larger series and I’d like to read more from this author. The characters were lovely and I wanted them to be happy so badly. Life was tough. Religion always seems to be an obstacle. The communication issues are as old as time and even more wrought in a time when same sex relationships were even more dangerous. I really recommend this story and those who love historicals I think will fully enjoy this book.
RATING: 
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